Wrapped cigar package and method of wrapping



Dec. 13,1949 J. E. SNYDER WRAPPED CIGAR PACKAGE AND METHOD OF WRAPPINGFiled Aug. 18, 1944 IN V EN TOR. firms: A? 540 051? BY 7?. l/cvCm/aPatented Dec. 13, 1949 WRAPPED CIGAR PACKAGE AND METHOD OF WRAPPINGJames E. Snyder, Camp Carson, Colo., assignor to Wingfoot Corporation,Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application August-l8, 1944,Serial No. 550,035

g 4 Claims. (01. zoo-48.5)

This invention relates to a new method of wrapping cigars and includesthe wrapped prod- .uct.

Cigars are somewhat irregular in shape, being of nonuniform diameter.The trade desires a snug wrap on a cigar so that it presents the bestappearance when displayed in a cigar box. The conventional snug wrapper,formed by wrapping the cigar snugly with a wrapper of metal foil,moistureproofed cellophane (regenerated cellulose suitably coated) orthe like and uniting the overlapped portion with a t ght seal, has beenfound objectionable because it is not readily possible to force thecigar out of one end of the wrapper by squeezing the other end of thewrapper, due to the fact that one section of the cigar is of largerdiameter than another. In recent years it has become generallyrecognized that the preferred way to remove a cigar from its wrapper isto squeeze or pin-ch one end of the wrapped cigar and thus force it outof one end of the wrapper. This is referred to herein as popping thecigar out of its wrapper. It is an object of this invention to provide awrapper which facilitates such removal of the cigar.

According to this invention, the wrapper is formed into a tube larger indiameter than any section of the cigar so that the cigar may be readilypassed through it. According to a preferred way of wrapping the cigar,the cigar is enclosed in a loose-fitting wrapper of film or othersuitable wrapping material, the edges of which are brought to a straightline with one portion of the film near the edge lying fiat against theother, and a seam is formed near the edges to make a loosely fittingtube which encircles the cigar. Then, this tube is folded down onto thecigar, and the fold may be sealed in place or may merely be held inplace by folding over the portions of the tube which extend beyond theends of the cigar.

If the wrapper is made of a material which is heat scalable and remainstacky for a reasonable period after heating, it is possible to make anencircling tube, as described, and to then fold the seam while stilltacky onto the wrapper and by pressure cause the tacky seam to adhere tothe wrapper.

According to an alternative procedure which may be used mostadvantageously with a wrapper composed of heat-scalable material, theedges, when brought together into alignment as described, are foldedtogether back down onto the cigar, and a seam is formed with the edgesfolded down. causes the seam to unite to the portion of the wrapper ontowhich the the seam is folded.

Various wrapping materials may be employed in carrying out theinvention. A heat-scalable material may be used to advantage althoughad- The heat utilized in making the seam hesives of the usual type maybe employed in handling nonheat-sealable materials, such as uncoatedfoil, cellophane, and the like. Thermoplastic, heat-sealable materials,such as vinyl compounds, coated cellophane, etc., may be used. Rubberhydrochloride film is a preferred wrapper. It may be plasticized andblended, etc., and if desired, may contain a considerable percentage ofanother plastic. For example, the film may be formed of equal parts ofrubber hydrochloride and the benzene-soluble copolymer of vinyl chlorideand vinylidene chloride known as Saran 13-130.

The invention will be further described in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a tube broken away at the center which has been partiallywrapped;

Fig. 2 shows the same tube with the wrapper further completed;

Fig. 3 illustrates one method of sealing the Wrapper by heat;

Fig. 4 is a section through the package heatsealed in this manner whencompleted; and

Figs. 5-7 show an alternative method of sealing.

In the preferred method of wrapping, the rubber hydrochloride film l islooped around the cigar 2, and the edges of the wrapper lie fiat againstone another and are heat-sealed along the line 3. In this way, a tube oflarger diameter than the cigar is made, encircling the cigar.

After forming the tube and while the heatseal 3 is still tacky, thedouble layer of film representing the excess over that required toencircle the cigar is folded back onto itself to form the overlap 4. Theends of the wrapper 5 are preferably lightly sealed and then folded up.

Rubber hydrochloride film is very highly moisture resistant. Itsresistance to the passage of moisture vapor may be increased byplasticizing and by adding other compatible materials. The seam formedbetween two portions of a rubber hydrochloride film by sealing with heatand pressure is an autogenous bond which is as strong as the filmitself. Such a seam is too strong for use at the end of the cigarbecause it prevents popping a cigar from the wrapper. Therefore, whenrubber hydrochloride film is employed, the ends are ordinarily folded upwith light sealing, using a warm instrument which produces only atackiness and superficial adhesion between overlapping surfaces of thefilm. The ends of the film may be coated with a material which is not asadhesive as the rubber hydrochloride film to produce a bond which iss'ufficiently easily broken to be poppedopen. As shown in Fig. 2, theend 5 may be merely folded up, or it may be sealed. with an adhesive orin any other suitable manner. The tube is preferably closed with amoisturetig-ht seam at both ends.

Figs. 3 and 4 showmore clearly the manner of making the packageillustrated in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a section through the package, showingthe cigar 2 and the wrapper l sealed along the long seam 3. The portionof the film which covers the top of the cigar is designated by thenumeral 6. The heat-sealing irons 1 and 3 are shown in the position theyoccupy just after forming the seal.

It will be noted that the wrapper has been formed into a tube of uniformdiameter larger than the cigar by sealing along the line '3. The excesswrapper not required for encircling the cigar is then folded downagainst the portion of the film; 6. This is done while the seam 3 isstill tacky as a result of being heated. By pressing this seam 3 againstthe outer surface of the overlapped wrapper, the tacky seam is.superficially united to the wrapper at 9. This seam is easily broken.However, so long as the ends of the tube are folded over as at 5, thereis little danger of the seams being broken, and the wrapper may be madeto fit the cigar snugly throughout its length. In Wrapping cigarsmechanically, the fold will ordinarily be of uniform width where a tubeof uniform diameter is used, and the amount of overlap will be governedby the largest diameter or cross-sectional area of the cigar.

Figs. 5-7 show an alternative method of wrapping the cigar. The cigar i2is enclosed by the film H, which is folded over before sealing. The foldis made so that the cigar is snugly enclosed in the, wrapper. Thesealing iron 23 is brought down against the fold as shown in Fig. 6. Asshown in Fig. 7, by the time the iron is lifted, the two edges 2| and 22have been securely and autogenously united at 24, and the seal hasextended to the surface 25 to form the seal 26, but there is no strongbond between the seal and this wrapped surface at the seal 26. The bondat 26 is easily broken when pressure is applied to one end of the cigarto pop it from the wrapper, and the tube opens up to a diameter muchlarger than that of the cigar so that the cigar is easily popped fromthe wrapper.

Instead of employing a heat-seal to unite the edges 2i and 22 of thewrapper to the surface 25, an adhesive may be employed. If preferred,the ends of the wrapper may be closed by an adhesive and merely foldedagainst the surface 25 without being adhesively united thereto, or theymay be secured to the surface 25 by an adhesive.

Although the drawings illustrate a seam made by folding the film tobring the edge portions of the wrapper to the same straight line, such aseam is not necessary. The edges may be overlapped in the manner usuallyemployed in making cigar wrappers; that is, with the two edges of thewrapper on opposite sides of the overlapped area. However formed, theseam made in making the loosely fitting tube is a strong, moisture-tightseam, and the secondary seam which unites the fold to the surface of thewrapper which lies adjacent the cigar is a weaker seam, easily ruptured.

It Will be obvious that instead of making the fold of Figs. 54! adjacentthe seam, the fold might be formed on the other side of the cigar, inwhich case it will be along the middle of the wrapper, and the strongseam will fit snugly against the surface of the cigar. Such variationsmay be made without departing from the invention as defined in theattached claims.

What I claim 1. A cigar of nonuniform diameter throughout 4 most of itslength, enclosed in a moistureproof wrapper of heatesealable materialwith a heatseal adjacent the edges of the wrapper to thus form a tube ofthe wrapper, the tube being substantially larger in perimeter than thelargest section of the cigar, the excess of the tube over that requiredfor snugly encircling the cigar being folded against the outer surfaceof a wrapped portion of the cigar and held there by an easily rupturablebond, the ends of the wrapper being folded back along a linesubstantially perpendicular to the axis of the cigar and closed witheasily rupturable seams so that the cigar may be popped from either endof th finished enclosure.

2. A cigar of nonuniform diameter throughout most of its length,enclosed in a heatesealable, moisture-tight wrapper with a tight seamjoining contacting surfaces of the wrapper adjacent opposite edgesthereof to form a tube which is substantially larger in cross-sectionalarea than the greatest cross-sectional area of the cigar and with thecircumferential excess of the tube over that required to encircle thecigar folded back against the outer surface of a portion of the wrapperadjacent the cigar and held there by an easily rupturable heat-seal, theends of the wrapper being folded back along a line substantiallyperpendicular to the axis of the cigar and closed with easily rupturableseams so that the cigar may be popped from either end of the finishedenclosure.

3. The method of wrapping a cigar of nonuniform diameter throughout mostof its length, which comprises encircling the cigar with a heatsealable,moistureproof wrapper and bringing the edges of the wrapper togetherwith the areas of the wrapper in excess of that required to snuglyencircle the cigar being brought into face-to-face contact in aflattened condition and folding such excess areas together against awrapped surface of the cigar, and then applying heat and pressure asubstantial distance from the fold thus produced to securely unite thesurfaces adjacent the edges of the wrapper and to unite the outerwrapped surface of the cigar to the seam thus formed by an easilyrupturable heat-seal.

4. The method of wrapping a cigar which is of nonuniform diameterthroughout most of its length, which comprises encircling the cigar witha wrapper of rubber hydrochloride film. bringin the edges of the wrappertogether with the areas of the wrapper in excess of that required tosnugly encircle the cigar in face-to-face contact in a flattened.condition, heat-sealing the contacting surfaces adjacent the edges so asto provide a substantial area of films in face-to-face unsealed contactbetween such heat-seal and the portion of the film in contact with thecigar, and then while the heat-seal is still warm folding the sealedportion of the film against the balance of the wrapper and pressing itthereto to make it adhere.

JAMES E. SNYDER.

nnrnnnnons CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

N ED TA ES ATENTS Number Name Date 1,754,839 Smith Apr. 15, 19301,899,207 Munson Feb. 28, 1933 1,953,097 Becker Apr. 3. 1934 2,018,705Conti Oct. 29, 1935 2,273,452 Snyder Feb. 17, 1942 2,284,171 SilbermanMay 26, 1942

